A general process for forming a color image with a photographic light-sensitive material such as a color photographic light-sensitive material comprises developing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material using an aromatic primary amine developing agent in the presence of a color coupler having the ability to form a dye by reacting with an oxidation product of the developing agent to form an azomethine dye or an indoaniline dye. This color development process which was invented originally by L. D. Mannes and L. Godowsky in 1935 and which has been improved has now been used widely all over the world in the photographic field.
The processing of color photographic light-sensitive materials essentially comprises the following three steps:
(1) a color development step, PA1 (2) a bleaching step, PA1 (3) a fixing step.
The bleaching step and the fixing step may be carried out at the same time. Namely, a bleach-fixing step (the so-called blix step), by which developed silver and undeveloped silver halide are removed can be used. In actual development processing, auxiliary steps for maintaining the photographic or physical quality of the images formed or the improving the storage stability of the images, etc. are employed in addition to the above described two essential steps consisting of color development and silver-removal. For example, steps using a bath such as a hardening bath for preventing an excessive softening of the light-sensitive layers during processing, a stopping bath for effectively stopping the development reaction, a stabilizing bath for stabilizing the images formed or a defilming bath for removing a backing layer on the support can be employed.
Usually, an aromatic primary amine developing agent is dissolved in an aqueous alkaline solution and used as a color developing solution. If the aromatic primary amine development agent is incorporated in the light-sensitive material, the development can be essentially carried out using only an aqueous alkaline solution. Consequently, the developing solution can be easily prepared and the change in the composition of the developing solution becomes to a lesser extent. Accordingly, it is easy to control of the developing solution. Further, there are many advantages in that the BOD of the waste liquor is decreased markedly and treatment of the waste liquor is easy. However, incorporation of an aromatic primary amine developing agent into a light-sensitive material is not now generally utilized because many disadvantages such as desensitization of the light-sensitive material and occurrence of fogs or stains during storage, or insufficient color formation in the processing, etc. occur.
A black-and-white developing agent such as hydroquinone or catechol, etc. can be incorporated into the light-sensitive material in a comparatively stable state. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,978 discloses that such a developing agent can be incorporated into the light-sensitive material as a metal complex salt. On the contrary, the aromatic primary amine developing agent is difficult to incorporate into the light-sensitive material in a stable manner because of their lack of stability.
Several methods for incorporating an aromatic primary amine developing agent into a light-sensitive material are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,599 describes the use of a Schiff base of an aromatic primary amine developing agent with salicylaldehyde as a precursor of a developing agent. U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,492 discloses the use of a combination of a metal salt such as a lead or cadmium salt with an aromatic primary amine developing agent. In British Pat. No. 1,069,061, a phthalimide type precursor prepared by reacting an aromatic primary amine with phthalic acid is used. Other known methods are described in German Pat. Nos. 1,159,758 and 1,200,679, U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,035, etc. However, all of the requirements of a formation of sufficient color density on development, a lack of desensitization and the elimination of the occurrence of fogs or stains on storage of the light-sensitive material can not be obtained using any of these prior art techniques.